Children`s Music

Music is an important component for all people to posses in their lives. A child
should be introduced to music at a very young age. The introduction of every
type of music from classical all the way to modern rock is important. This gives
a child the ability to form their own opinion to what they might like the best.

Classical music can teach a child every aspect of music including, harmony,
themes, dynamics, polymeters, and polyrhythms. These are the components that are
scarce in modern music today. The three major components of variation are
melody, rhythm, and meter. Variation is an important key to teach a child so
that they understand the there are many different ways to approach music and
life. The composer Lucien Caillet wrote many variations on the theme “Pop Goes
the Weasel”. Most children have heard this tune in cartoons or songs at school
not realizing the classical context. This is a wonderful piece for children
because of the dramatic and calm instrumentals followed by the variations of the
theme. The music has a whimsical cheerful feel to it and is a perfect example
for an introduction, theme, five variations of the theme followed by a coda.

These are all important parts of a piece for a child to recognize. Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart is a remarkable composer that all children should study. The
piece, “Ah, Vous Dirai-je, Maman” is perfect for a child in that it
resembles a well known nursery rhyme, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. This
piece is also an example of variations of theme. This begins as a simple melody
transforming into a complex variation containing a difference in meter
throughout the variations with in an increase in tempo. The composition has a
very light and cheerful familiar sound to it and could easily attract the
attention of a child. The use of sensory imagery in music, impressionism, is
another form helpful to increase interest and make music enjoyable. Modest
Petrovich Mussorgsky composed a piece, “Promenade, from pictures of an
exhibition” solely around an art exhibition. This is a dark and gloomy
symphony that represents a marching soldier and paints a vivid picture of an
army. Another composer using imagery was Aram Khachaturian, he composed a work
called “Sabre Dance”. This is an extremely energetic powerful piece that
paints a definite picture of a chase and catch situation. This can be found in
many cartoons today which allows a child to relate the classical music to a
humorous situation. The piece is filled with energy and caused my seven year old
brother to dance and run around the room. He enjoyed this piece the most and
said it reminded him of a Tom and Jerry cartoon.. A modern classical composer,
Steve Reich wrote “Different Trains”, this is a classic example of sensory
imagery. The composer uses many counts of ostinato, tempo, and meter changes to
portray the sounds of different trains in different cities. The sampled sounds
paint a colorful picture and make the piece very interesting and unique. The
originality yet classical makeup attracts children and adults to imagine moving
trains. Dynamics, softness and loudness in music, is another important part of
musical composition. Franz Joseph Haydn wrote “The Surprise Symphony” that
developed a variation in the dynamic level. “This piece was written for a
special after dinner concert. Haydyn knew that many people used this time for an
afterdinner nap so he used calm string music to relax and secure his audience.

He gave them just enough time to begin to doze and then CRASH! The whole
orchestra would play a chord as loud as possible” (Bond 59). This humorous
story and musical piece brings a sense of laughter and a delightful mood to the
music. Children seem to respond the most to the light and humorous feel to
music. This sets a good example of a soft dynamic level followed by a
dramatically loud one. This gives a sense a possible dynamic variety in one
work. A rondo, musical form in which the first section is repeated several times
with a different section between each of the repeats (Staton 179), is a
significant form a child should be taught. “The Viennese Musical Clock” by
Zoltan Kodaly performs a rondo in a simple yet entertaining way. This piece is
another example of imagery, the sounds of the clock melody produces a picture of
little figurines dancing around an old fashioned clock. The mood is happy and
joyful, very enjoyable for a child to learn. Narrative is a form